LOS ANGELES — No Sean Couturier. No Denver Barkey. No Luke Glendening. Emil Andrae playing center. And the Philadelphia Flyers were closing out a back-to-back Southern California set against a rested Los Angeles Kings squad.

This could have gone bad. Real bad. Instead, the Flyers skated away with a 4-3 shootout victory. It was their fourth ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights were shut out for the second straight game in a 4-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka finished with 28 saves, two days after Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a 28-save shutout in a 2-0 loss.

The Knights (31-24-14) finished 2-2 on their ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. – It wasn’t necessarily a surprise to see the San Jose Sharks lose to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

But the way the Sharks lost to the NHL’s hottest team over the last four months was one for the history books.

The Sharks allowed goals on four consecutive shots – three in the middle of the second period and one early...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — coming oh-so-close over and over again, the Chicago Blackhawks finally defeated the Kirill Kaprizov-less Minnesota Wild.

For the first time in 20 games, the Wild lost in regulation to their Central Division rival, falling 2-1 on Thursday at Grand Casino Arena without Kaprizov in action.

Kaprizov was sidelined by a lower-...Read more

Freddy Gaudreau scored the lone Seattle goal as the Kraken kicked off a six-game road swing with a loss to one of the teams trying to force them out of the last playoff spot in the West.

The Nashville Predators won, 3-1, and jumped into a three-way tie with the Kraken and the Los Angeles Kings. The Kraken have a potential tiebreaker — ...Read more

BOSTON — With a quick stop at home for one game on Thursday, the Bruins punched the clock, gave a workmanlike effort and cashed the two points that were on the table.

The B’s raced out to 4-0 lead and nailed down a 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden to keep pace in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference playoff race. The B’s ...Read more

DETROIT — In the most important games of the season thus far, the Detroit Red Wings are showing their mettle.

Alex DeBrincat's goal at 16 minutes, 35 seconds of the third period broke a tie and sent the Red Wings to a 3-1 victory Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.

DeBrincat swiped the puck from defenseman Mike Matheson, drove alone to ...Read more

The Blues' most impactful employees didn't wear skates on Wednesday night in Calgary.

That title belonged to the coaching staff, which successfully overturned three Flames goals with challenges in an eventual 2-1 Blues loss in a shootout.

Joel Farabee scored the game-deciding goal in the second round of the shootout.

Dylan Holloway scored for...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. ― The Flyers showed what they got against the Anaheim Ducks.

In a game that had it all — goals, big saves, a fight, another near fight, and lots of underlying drama with the stands full of fans from both sides, the Orange and Black skated away with a 3-2 overtime win.

Noah Cates put the puck back in front, and Ducks goalie ...Read more

The two best teams in the NHL just can’t seem to find any separation from each other.

For the third time in as many meetings this season, the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars needed a shootout to decide matters. And for the second time, the Stars prevailed at Ball Arena. Wyatt Johnston had the lone goal of the one-on-one contest in a 2-1 ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Penguins and Hurricanes played one of the most entertaining games of the season Wednesday, seesawing back and forth throughout.

After seven combined third-period goals, it was only fitting that it went to overtime — which has not been kind to Pittsburgh in Raleigh.

It wasn’t again Wednesday. The Penguins lost, 6-5, in...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — On his way to the locker room after the Penguins’ morning skate Wednesday at Lenovo Center, Evgeni Malkin shared a scoop with the reporters waiting outside.

“He’s back,” Malkin said with a big smile. “Crosby’s back!”

Penguins coach Dan Muse confirmed his alternate captain’s report: Sidney Crosby is indeed ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Practicing in between games used to be routine for the Wild, so much so that they would trek to far-off or nondescript locations on their road trips if that’s what it took to skate.

There’s TGH Ice Plex at the end of a two-lane road in Tampa, Fla. Across from Calgary’s arena was the Stampede Corral before it was ...Read more

The Vegas Golden Knights felt they turned a corner after winning back-to-back games for the first time in almost a month.

They turned the corner Tuesday and ran into a 6-foot-5 Finnish wall that stopped everything thrown at him.

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves, one massive stop after another, and the Knights lost 2...Read more

The Kraken spotted the Tampa Bay Lightning a three-goal lead on Tuesday night, then it was like they remembered they’re sitting on the playoff cutoff and need every win they can get right now.

Bobby McMann and Jared McCann got them back within a goal, then the Lightning pulled away. Nikita Kucherov’s third goal was an empty netter, and ...Read more

The San Jose Sharks missed an opportunity Tuesday to finish a cross-continent road trip on a positive note to make up some ground in their bid for a playoff spot.

After rallying to tie the game in the second period, the Sharks allowed net-front goals to Max Jones and Zach Hyman in the first 8:12 of the third period in a 5-3 loss to the Edmonton...Read more

The Wild finally snapped out of their slump … and against a last-place opponent, to boot.

After dropping three straight home games to non-playoff teams, the Wild overcame a sudden goalie change and late tying goal by the Blackhawks to prevail, 4-3 in overtime, on Tuesday at United Center without the injured Joel Eriksson Ek.

Mats Zuccarello ...Read more

The Bruins got some of what they needed in Montreal on Tuesday, but certainly not all they wanted.

For the second consecutive night, the B’s lost in the final minute of overtime soon after one of their own great chances didn’t find the back of the net.

Cole Caufield scored the winner with 22 seconds left in OT, tapping in a great pass from...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — Ryan Shea figured Ben Kindel would listen to music he heard on TikTok. So it was surprising to hear that the Penguins rookie’s favorite band is the Eagles.

“Most of the boys say he’s a 40-year-old in an 18-year-old’s body,” Shea said.

Kindel’s maturity extends far beyond music tastes. It’s allowed him to ...Read more